Written by: Riley Burns
Feminism has been around for a long time, and with social media, feminism has been in
more conversations around the globe. There are benefits to this, seeing that the whole idea
behind feminism is fighting for women's rights, that women should be treated the same as men.
But with every positive, there is a negative, one being that people often mislabel themselves as
feminists. There’s all this energy around feminism: What makes someone a feminist? What is white
feminism? What is intersectional feminism? In order to answer these questions, you need to
understand what each of these questions is asking. Merriam-Webster defines feminism as, “the
theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.”
In order to be a feminist, you have to support equality of the sexes in every area. This
also means you have to support men when they are not treated as equally as women are. In
addition to this, you have to support ALL women. The definition of feminism does not say ‘to
support only certain ethnicities of women’ or ‘only certain oppressions of certain ethnicities.’
Intersectional feminism is when you include all groups of women, whether it be Jewish women,
disabled women, black women etc. In order to be a feminist you need to support all women or
you can’t call yourself a feminist.
A white feminist is when you only focus on the oppressions that white women face. If
someone does this, they are not realizing that white women are oppressed less than other women.
This doesn’t mean that white women don’t have problems, but they don’t necessarily face some
of the same problems women in the minorities face. If you are a white women, you need to
realize that you do have some advantages and make sure you include women from minorities in
your fight and fight for their equality and against their oppressions as well.
There are women worldwide who are different than you. They may look different, talk
different, act in a different way etc. Despite their differences, they are still women. This means a
feminist would support All these women. All women means every single women on this planet
including: What if they’re a prostitute? They are selling their body and I don’t like that. You need to
support all women, even if you don’t like what their job is. Their job doesn’t diminish
them as a women.
What if they’re disabled? Support all women, regardless of their physical situation.
If they’re trans, they are not real women. Trans WOMEN are real women. Someone's
gender can differ from the gender they were born as. A feminist supports all women,
regardless of how they became one.
What if they have a different skin color? Skin color is just a physical characteristic, and
that does make them any less of a women than you are.
Even if their opinions differ from mine? Feminism is about supporting all women, and
that includes their opinions. You have to respect their opinions even if you may not agree
with them.
If you are a white women, make sure you open your mind to other women's oppressions.
Women from minorities suffer many more oppressions and obstacles than you do. Be aware of
that.
If you are a man and want to be a feminist, make sure that you support women in every
aspect. Women are your equals, so start looking at them like that and stating treating them like
they are. You are not superior to them, they are not superior to you, you are both equal.
If you are a women from a minority, keep fighting and never give up. Don’t let someone
walk all over you. You are important and don’t think anything else.
To all women: continue fighting to be treated equal and don’t let people talk to you like
you aren’t.
In order to be a feminist, you must do two things: support ALL women and understand
that women face other oppressions than what you might face.
Before you start calling yourself a feminist, be positive you support all the different types
of women, no matter where they come from or how they got to be one. In addition to this, you
need to support men who aren’t treated equally to women. Feminism is the fight for the equality
of the sexes, so fight for that.